An armed man who was allegedly posing as a member of law enforcement was arrested by Secret Service agents at the Arizona stadium where Charlie Kirk’s funeral will be held Sunday, according to reports.
Joshua Runkles – who was allegedly carrying a knife, a gun and expired law enforcement credentials –was detained inside State Farm Stadium, home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale on Friday, The Washington Post reported, citing a law enforcement official familiar with the incident.
Runkles, 42, told Secret Service agents he was at the site to provide private security and handed them “inactive law enforcement credentials,” the official reportedly told the outlet.
An armed man, who claimed to be a member of law enforcement, was arrested by State Farm Stadium in Arizona where Charlie Kirk’s funeral will be held on Sunday. AP
He was taken into custody by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and booked into Maricopa County Jail on charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer, which is a felony in Arizona, and carrying a weapon into a prohibited place, which is a misdemeanor, according to Bart Graves, a spokesperson for the state public safety department.
He has since been released on bond, but an investigation is ongoing to determine his reason for being at the stadium, Graves told The Post. The amount of the bond was unclear.
A banner hangs on the facade of the State Farm Stadium ahead of a memorial service for Charlie Kirk. REUTERS
Runkles’ background wasn’t immediately clear, but a federal source familiar with the matter previously told Fox News Digital that the suspect “is a former deputy sheriff out of Idaho.”
The suspect “is a former deputy sheriff out of Idaho,” a federal source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
“They are going through his background and trying to figure out what he was up to there,” the source told the outlet.
Runkles allegedly made it inside the stadium “prior to the setup of any secure perimeter,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told Fox News Digital.
“The U.S. Secret Service in coordination with local law enforcement in Glendale, Arizona, is investigating an individual who was observed exhibiting suspicious behavior” at the stadium, Guglielmi wrote in a statement Saturday.
“The individual was approached by Secret Service and stated during the encounter that he was a member of law enforcement and that he was armed. The individual is not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and is currently in custody,” Guglielmi said in a statement to The Post.
“The U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement are investigating the circumstances as to why he was at the location.”
The scene outside State Farm Stadium the day before the Charlie Kirk Memorial. Aristide Economopoulos
A man asks for directions as Glendale Police have closed off roads around the stadium the day prior to the Kirk memorial. Aristide Economopoulos
Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection stand outside State Farm Stadium the day before the memorial. Aristide Economopoulos
The individual has not been publicly identified.
The “Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk” memorial is expected to draw a crowd of over 100,000, including VIP guests like President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
A US Department of Homeland Security official previously told The Post they designated the funeral a level-1 “special event assessment rating.”
A cross stands across from the State Farm Stadium. Getty Images
A US Department of Homeland Security official previously told The Post they designated the funeral a level-1 “special event assessment rating,” which is “reserved for events of the highest national significance.” AFP via Getty Images
Kirk’s memorial is expected to draw a crowd of over 100,000, including VIP guests like President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Getty Images
“This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” the official explained.
Federal agencies were already “tracking several threats of unknown credibility” ahead of the funeral, ABC News reported.
“Violent extremists and unaffiliated lone offenders may view the memorial service or related events as attractive attack targets due to the attendance of these individuals, other senior U.S. government officials, state and local government officials, and political activists and due to major international media attention,” warned a law enforcement memo obtained by the outlet.
Here’s the latest on the Charlie Kirk shooting in Utah
- Police identified Tyler Robinson, 22, as the alleged assassin who fatally shot Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
- Robinson was charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice.
- Law enforcement confirmed that Robinson was living with a transgender roommate, and communications between the two helping the feds catch the alleged assassin.
- Kirk, the 31-year-old Turning Point USA creator, was attending an event on his American Comeback Tour when he was fatally shot in the neck by a single shot.
- President Trump was among many who have called for the assassin to receive the death penalty.
- Kirk’s body was brought to Arizona from Utah on Air Force Two, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, and taken to Phoenix’s Hansen Mortuary Chapel.
- Kirk’s funeral, which President Trump has promised to attend, is scheduled for Sept. 21 at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals.
- Kirk, a rising MAGA star, is survived by his wife and two young children.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, is expected to speak, along with the president.
Other VIPs expected to deliver remarks include White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth; US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; Donald Trump Jr.; Tucker Carlson; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Director of the White House Personnel Office Sergio Gor.
At the public outpouring of grief and support, the US Secret Service will coordinate all security measures, William Mack, the special agent in charge of the Phoenix field office, told The Post Friday.
People visit the makeshift memorial for Charlie Kirk outside the headquarters of Turning Point USA on Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. Getty Images
Secret Service teams were “already on the ground in Phoenix and Glendale, working side-by-side with state, local, and federal partners,” Mack said.
Jose Santiago of the Glendale Police Department said that “security of all different types – from the sky and the ground – and measures that won’t be visible to the naked eye” will be in effect, as well as metal detectors and a strict no-bag policy at Sunday’s proceedings.
There will be at least several hundred law enforcement agents in and around the event, Santiago added.